This invention relates to a novel journal guard or casing for the end portion of a wheel axle which protects at least the journal portion of the axle from damage due to adverse environmental conditions, accumulation of foreign particles, and mechanical abuse or impacts during transportion, storage and/or handling.
An axle is a pin or shaft on which two wheels are mounted on the section of the axle generally referred to as a wheel seat. In railway cars, locomotives, and other heavy vehicles, the axles run in bearings and the sections making contact therein are generally referred to as journals. Railway axles have journal sections outboard of the wheel seat, i.e. the wheel seats are positioned closer to the center of the axle than are the journals. A typical axle includes of course two wheel seats and two journal sections.
Railway axles and the like are often transported large distances with their journal sections unprotected from adverse weather conditions, abrasive particles and mechanical damage and jarrings because their large bulk and configuration makes protective packaging prior to transport extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive. A variety of guards for protecting axles after installation are known, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,713,709, 2,995,389 and 1,565,003 and British Pat. No. 23,467. Such guards however merely provide protection during operation. Moreover, all of these guards are designed to be substantially permanently installed by complicated mounting procedures and merely cover gaps between members to avoid abrasion or other damage caused by foreign matter being lodged between the members. None of these guides are suitable for use prior to installation, i.e., for simple mounting or removal on the end of an axle to protect its journal section, not only against the accumulation of foreign matter but also against mechanical damage or adverse weather conditions during transportion, handling and/or storage.
Wheel axles are most frequently shipped or stored as an assembly with two wheels mounted, one on each wheel seat but may of course be shipped without the wheels. The conventional method of protecting the journal portion is merely by applying a layer of grease thereto, which provides substantially no protection from mechanical damage. When stored or transported, axle and wheel assemblies are generally aligned on a double track system so as to dispose a number of assemblies in a nested relationship and mechanical stops or bumpers may be used to avoid contact between the journals and the wheels of other assemblies. If such stops or bumpers are not used properly or omitted altogether, as has occurred more frequently than desired in the past, the incidence of mechanical damage to journals is high. A suitable guard would facilitate handling of the axles by reducing the amount of caution necessary to protect the journal.
Another method of protecting journals can be envisioned, wrapping in several layers of protective material, but this method has not been utilized generally because the expense of materials that are discarded after use are employed is prohibitive and wrapping each journal securely by hand is unduly time consuming. A suitable guard which is easy to secure to the axle and which is reusable again and again avoids the prohibitive cost and expenditure of time generally believed necessary to provide adequate protection to journals.
In transport, moreover, a railway axle or the like may be subject to a wide variety of weather conditions ranging from extremely cold to extremely warm temperatures. A suitable guard must effectively accomodate thermal expansion of air trapped within the guard caused by a rise in environmental temperature and should also protect the housed members from high impact damage.
It is desirable to provide a protective guard for the journal portions of railway axles and the like during transportation and storage that may be easily mounted and removed from the axles and yet provide protection from accumulation of foreign particles, damage from adverse weather conditions, and mechanical damage. It is also desirable to provide a guard that is sufficiently sealed to the axle that is is substantially impermeable to fluid flow and yet accomodates thermal expansion of air trapped within the guard. It is also desirable to provide a resilient covering for journals of railway axles or the like which decreases the caution necessary for handling of the axles before and after transportation.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a guard for the journal of a railway axle or the like which is simple to mount or remove from an axle and yet is reusable. It is another object to provide a guard for journals which will protect the journal section and sections outboard of the journal from not only accumulation of foreign matter, such as abrasive particles, and adverse weather conditions but also mechanical damage caused by impact or jarring. It is also an object to provide a guard for a journal which accomodates expansion of the air trapped within and reduces the caution necessary for handling the axles.